//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen: ...Goes The Spoils // Story: Light's Rising, Shadow's Fall // by jwizard //------------------------------// Equestria, Trottingham Outskirts, 03-18-05, 4:51 P.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon) Suave Polomare smirked as she moved closer to the three other mares in the cavern. “Well, well, I set a trap for a unicorn, and I catch a ‘princess’,” the mare said in a condescending tone. “I really was hoping I could wrap up these loose ends myself.” Twilight scowled, doing her best to try and remove the block on her magic. She’s got the spell thaumatically bound to her mana signature; I can’t break that without killing Rainbow or Marigold. Her eyes flickered to the glow on the criminal’s horn. “Oh Twilight, if you’re thinking that I and my associates are going to kill you, you’re absolutely right. You’re vulnerable to all the same things that both Celestia and Luna are; a simple petrification spell is all we need. If you try to leave, I’ll torture the pegasus.” The mare stalked over to the wall and tapped a pattern. She listened for a few moments, frowning when there wasn’t a return. “Where are those fools? They should have responded by now.” Marigold snorted. “Still relying on hired hands Suave? I thought so; you never struck me as the type to get your hooves dirty.” The unicorn smirked at the frown that appeared on the mare’s muzzle. It cleared after a moment. “Oh Marigold, that is so beneath you,” she said; her tone grated on the ears of the other mares. “You had to know that we would come calling after your failure in Ponyville. And yet, you waltzed right into the trap we laid out for you. Your reputation is as overblown as that jumped-up purple poser over there.” Suave pointed at Twilight. “I admit; trying to eliminate somepony so close to the Sun Throne was a risk, but I never thought that our backup plan would work.” Marigold frowned pensively. “Why the subterfuge though? If it were just the crystals, you could have used any other methods. Why involve demons? That never works.” Suave just shook her head. “I don’t like them myself personally; however, my Family’s top client insisted, and that one is not a pony to cross.” She tapped the pattern again, frowning when there was no answer. During all of the talking, Rainbow Dash had remained uncharacteristically silent. Her usual response- rushing in headlong -was blocked by her awakened instincts. While the others had been talking, she had been tasting the flavor of all of the thaumatic energy in the cavern. The different wavelengths vibrated down her new horn; two of them were familiar, the last one was not. With some confusion, Rainbow realized that the spell surrounding the cavern wasn’t the criminal unicorn’s work. She was fully aware that the mare wasn’t even this skilled; somepony else had cast this spell, and a sloppy repair job had prevented its degradation when that pony died. Rainbow was able to see how the mare was riding on the outer layers of the spell. Leveraging her pegacorn mana through her hooves, Rainbow started to alter the flow of the spell. She wasn’t able to change the weft itself without causing feedback to reverb off of Marigold and Twilight. However, she was able to change it so that her mana was in control. By doing this, Rainbow Dash suddenly found herself in command of a series of spells around the entire mountain. All of them were a brute force attempt in creating a prison intended to cage an alicorn. Of course, none of that would actually work-- few ponies actually understood how alicorn magic worked. Rainbow blinked a couple of times as command of the spells- and the formula -embedded themselves into her mind. She smirked internally as she brought her attention back to the conversation. “Where are those fools?” Suave snapped. “They should have responded after the first time!” Marigold smirked. “Did you honestly think I didn’t suspect a trap? When I realized that the late D.A. was one of your top assassins, I leveraged my rank as Centurion for a detachment of Lunar Guards-ponies. They’ve most likely rounded up all of your boys. I believe that they call that check.” Suave sighed. “Well, I really didn’t want to have to do this without backup; it’s going to be difficult to move a statue by myself, but I guess it can’t be helped.” Her horn glowed as she triggered- or tried to -the petrification spell that had been layered in the spell weave. The mare frowned. “That shouldn’t have happened; you must be blocking it somehow Miss Sparkle. Well, we can’t have that.” Suave’s horn became sheathed in dark mana as she levered a Dark cantrip into the weft. Rainbow Dash’s eyes flashed bright white as her anger erupted. The cantrip froze in the mind of the unicorn, causing her to cry out in pain. This severed the final links that she had to the spells, allowing Rainbow to take full control. Suave cringed in renewed pain as she felt the spells paralyze her own abilities. She searched for the failsafes, only to realize that the weft had been altered; it was no longer the same series of enchantments it had once been. Rainbow stalked over to the shivering mare. “I was gonna just let you get arrested; you’ve got blood on your hooves, and you should hang for that,” the pegacorn snarled. Suave looked at her in fear. “But all of that twisted nonsense you just tried makes my blood boil. So I’m gonna do what Twilight is too kind to do” Rainbow’s eyes closed as she narrowed the weave to the area just around Suave. She then opened them; they were glowing a bright cyan. Her tone took on an intense quality as she passed Judgement on the unicorn. “Suave Polomare, I find you guilty of high crimes against the Crown of Equestria, its Citizens, and against Harmony. Let Hope’s Law Be Done.” A radiant rainbow glow suffused the cavern as the Power of Harmony flowed outward from Rainbow Dash. The energy of the third Prime Alicorn suffused her as it changed the spells, altering them. Suave cried out in pain as her thaumic pathways were simultaneously burned and healed. Her wellspring was altered in such a way to no longer allow her to channel mana. Her eyes opened as a set of runic seals appeared in them, sealing off her knowledge. Finally, rainbow-colored chains appeared around her cutie mark, creating a latticework that sealed off her special talent without removing it. A runic circle appeared around the bound unicorn once all of the other seals were finished. Rainbow stamped her right forehoof three times-- a flash, and Suave Polomare was no longer present. Rainbow Dash’s eyes returned to normal as she collapsed to her belly; tears were rolling down her snout. Twilight walked over to her, nuzzling her side in comfort. The three ponies sat for awhile while Rainbow collected herself. Gulping a bit, the mare was finally able to recover. Once Marigold saw that she was sufficiently recovered, the unicorn stamped three times. That was a signal. A Lunar Guard corporal flew into the entrance. “Centurion Marigold, I’m glad you’re safe!” Swift Wings cried out in relief as he landed. “When the spell curtain landed, none of us was able to get in. What happened?” “My former employer happened. She’s been dealt with,” the unicorn responded. At the stallion’s confused look, she clarified. “She’s been Banished; Miss Rainbow Dash called Hope’s Law on her.” Swift Wings nodded; it was common knowledge among the Guard that the Element Bearers had the same authority to call Hope’s Law since they were members of the Council of Friendship. “I’ll let the commander know then.” The stallion pivoted on his rear hooves and made his way back out of the cavern. Marigold roller her eyes. “Rookie; he’ll learn.” The unicorn waited for a few moments, then nodded to herself. She levitated the crystal rod she’d been carrying since Ponyville out of her saddlebags. There was a bright flare of light. When it cleared, a sword dropped in front of the mares. Rainbow Dash felt a hum in the air as she looked at the blade. She knew she’d seen that sword before. With a start, she realized that she had been seeing that blade in her dreams of late; in fact, it was one of the few clear details that she could recall. Twilight yelped suddenly. She levitated the tome that Celestia had given her out of her own saddlebags. “How in Harmony’s name did that get in here?! And why in the hay did it bite me?!” The last part was so incongruous that both Clever Marigold and Rainbow Dash fell to the ground laughing. Twilight scowled. “I’m serious; this damn thing bit right down on my aura.” She scowled at the book. “Crotchety, just like its author.” She opened it to what her magic told her was the point she should. “Look at this; there’s a prophecy of some kind here,” Twilight said. Frowning, she started to read, In the Betrayer’s Cave, the crystal form shall reveal what it holds; The destiny of She that is of Friendship and She that is Loyalty shall lead on; The path of Darkness leads to the City of the Winds; Unravel the Shadows there to find the Trail. Twilight facehoofed. “A disjointed haiku; did that old stallion ever get out?” She stuck her tongue out at Rainbow Dash and Marigold as they both chuckled. “Well Twi, you gotta admit; it was pretty flowery.” Rainbow then frowned. “What’s it mean though? It seems all muddled.” Twilight sighed. “It looks like you and I are heading to Mareago.” Equestria, Friendship Express, 03-21-05, 4:44 P.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon) Rainbow frowned as she looked over the piece of parchment she was levitating before her. The last two days had given her a chance to detox, allowing her to recall that she had yet to write to Scootaloo as she had promised. Writing wasn’t something that had ever come easy to Rainbow Dash. However, she wasn’t one to back down from her promises. Besides, she truly did see Scoots as a kid sister, and she knew that telling her some of what had happened would make the filly happy. She reread what she had written- her third attempt -to check for any mistakes. Hey Scoots, Sorry I didn’t write you sooner; the past week or so has been really hectic for me and Princess Twilight. I promised you I’d tell you of my adventures. So here’s the lowdown. Me, Twilight, and Marigold- you remember the spy that played as Mayor Mare -foiled three assassination attempts in Hoofington. I’m not gonna give details- it’s all classified stuff ya know -but you should have seen Twilight. She was all ‘pow! Bam!’ And ‘zap!’ I was seriously impressed. Clever Marigold lives up to her name; she sure showed her stuff when they tried as we got into Hoofington. She even showed that she truly values the right way to do something by not running when they tried to frame her. We all had lots of fun being escorted by Trixie- who’s waddling around like a ‘beached whale’ as she puts it these days. She sends her regards, and free tickets for you and Sweetie and Bloom to see her stage act once the foal is born. I also have more news on my changes. Turns out that I’ve become something more than what I once was. I’m a pegacorn now Scoots; just like the princesses were once. And I can tell you that I’m scared. But I’m going to do the best that I can; being able to do what you need to despite being scared is a sign of true courage. You taught me that Squirt. I knew that it too a lot of courage to get in front of those foals and do something that others would see as frilly, but it didn’t stop you. You’re a treasure Squirt, and I’m proud to have you as a little sister. I’ll write again soon. Rainbow Dash Rainbow nodded to herself. She was satisfied with what she’d written; there was enough to let Scootaloo know what was going on without going into details. She somehow knew  that the filly wouldn’t betray her trust; it was as if she could feel the bands of Loyalty between her and her ‘little sister’. Rolling the scroll up, Rainbow affixed a purple ribbon to it before sealing it with a wax seal in the shape of her cutie mark. Concentrating on the torc around her neck, she waited until she could feel that Scootaloo was alone before letting the dragonfire consume the scroll. Rainbow Dash sighed. Twilight receiving word from their friends had triggered something within her; Rainbow realized that she didn’t need to use the torc to send to Scootaloo. However, doing so with her own mana would leave a clear trail that both Celestia and Luna would be able to see. She honestly didn’t care if Luna knew she was a pegacorn or not; however, she didn’t want Celestia to know until after their journey was over. The cyan pegacorn frowned. Her reluctance to tell Princess Celestia what was going on made no sense; the Solar Alicorn had never been anything other than good to her. And yet, something told her that it was best to wait. Her musings were cut short by the door to the royal carriage opening. She stiffened before realizing that it was just Twilight. “Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow; I should have knocked first.” The alicorn levitated a plate of grilled salmon over to Rainbow Rainbow sniffed appreciatively. Grabbing a fork, she dug into the fish with relish. “It’s okay Twi; I should have my disguise up.” Twilight shook her head. “I’ve told the staff to knock first, even when they have to clean. You shouldn’t have to disguise yourself all the time.” Rainbow shrugged. “Eh, it doesn’t bother me. Hay, if it weren’t for this mission we’re on, I wouldn’t even bother with a disguise. It’s not like the Princess can make me do anything even if they wanted to.” Twilight frowned. “Yes, that’s true; you’re above them unless you choose a professional role in the Equestrian government. How did you know that though? I didn’t think law was something you’re familiar with.” “Har har Twi,” Rainbow snarked as she saw the cute smirk on Twilight’s muzzle. She shrugged again after a bit. “I just know I guess. It’s like there’s something in me that knows what I need to. I don’t understand it, but I know that I don’t need to right now.” Twilight nodded. “It’s more of your pegacorn nature coming through. They know their place better than the other tribes because they’re built to protect.” Rainbow frowned. “Yeah, those triggers I can do without, thank you very much.” She sighed. “I get that I’m rash a lot of  the time; it took everything I had not to just fry that upstart the other day.” Twilight nuzzled her friend. “I can see that Rainbow.” The cyan pegacorn leaned into the nuzzle; ever since she changed, she’d been more willing to let down her barriers than normal. “Better than anypony, I know what you’re going through; alicorns have the same instinct to protect.” The two ponies leaned into each other, both comforting the other as best as they could. Had they been aware of it, they would have seen the thick band of love energy flowing between them as the bond of friendship began to deepen into something more. Only time would tell how deep it would become.